With Great Power
by theamazingsp0iderman
Summary: ...comes great irresponsibility. Join the adventures of Amelia Stark and Danielle Harper from the stories 'The Chaos In Stars' by theamazingspoiderman and 'MIGRAINE' by Assbitch67. These two girls are attracted to trouble, some of which their powers are no use against.
1. Chapter 1

**WITH GREAT RESPONSIBILITY… COMES MEET-AWKWARD'S**

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 _" **I meet people and they become chapters in my stories."**_

 _― **Avijeet Das**_

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It was a sombre day. The past week had felt like one, long, sombre day that everyone in the Avenger's compound was just napping through. It didn't feel like 'tomorrow' was going to come any time soon, because a tomorrow insinuated a new day, a new start, full of new adventures. For that week everyone was paused, stationary, trapped in the after effects of what had happened in Sokovia.

Amelia Stark sat inside the living room of the compound alone, staring at a wall with an empty expression as her mind looked back on everything that had occured in Sokovia. She hadn't been able to get Charles Spencer's body back, Pietro had died and she'd been incapable of saving him, and this small girl - Danielle Harper - had performed something unbelievable, destroying the city of Sokovia that was acting as Ultron's meteor with just her powers. It was a lot.

Seeing the small girl break the meteor had been daunting for everyone, the display of power overwhelming and it had sent a wave of concern throughout the Avengers. No one admitted to being scared, they'd seen far scarier things and no one wanted to label Danielle as something evil when she was such a gentle child. The girl was shy, always keeping to herself and sometimes saying a few words to her brother but other than that she was pretty much mute. She didn't behave like a monster, not like something to be feared. And that was enough of a reason for Amelia to believe that Dani wasn't her powers, the exact same way that she wasn't just her powers that would sometimes be quite formidable as well. Sometimes Amelia wasn't sure whether she was controlling the power or if it was controlling her, and there was something about Dani and the way she talked about 'Eris', that suggested to the brunette that she felt the same way.

Amelia wanted to do a lot of things. She wanted to get Natasha out of that gym, she wanted to get Wanda and Jack to do more activities with the whole group so they weren't just the two of them hiding away from everyone feeling like they were all each other had. And most of all, above everything else, she wanted to get Dani to _talk_.

She'd been the one to isolate herself most and it had Amelia becoming more and more concerned with every day that passed where she wouldn't see the new addition to the team. So concerned that she'd sat in that living room for a good hour, staring at an off TV, trying to figure out what she could actually do to help Danielle get out of her shell.

"You okay?" Steve entered the room and casually sat beside her, his arm immediately going to the back of the couch around her shoulders as he got comfortable. His fingers pressed against her skin in a simple touch that they couldn't deepen because it felt inappropriate to do so when pretty much any one of the Avenger's would be able to see. Neither one of them wanted to overshadow people's healings with their relationship so after that one kiss before facing off Ultron, they'd mostly kept their intimate touches in their bedroom only.

They still shared a bed every night because they always had before, and that at least gave them some time to be… something. But until they were sure the team were okay, their relationship would remain unidentified and they'd just have to wait before they could go on a date.

Amelia was just glad it was unanimous between them that they couldn't really work on themselves until they were sure their friends, new and old, were okay. The fight against Ultron had left a humongous scar on the team, and the only reason Steve and Amelia were able to heal better than the others was because they had those nights in their bedroom to simply be _them_ and in love. It was what made her realise that she needed to be there for her friends to help them heal as well. Companionship breeds love, and Amelia had found that love was an ointment for any wound.

All she needed to do next was figure out how to be there for Dani, a girl she barely knew and someone that barely knew her.

"I've been better," the brunette replied quietly as she leaned her head back so she could rest it against his shoulder. She was almost tempted to return back to their bedroom so that she'd be able to properly cuddle up to his side but they'd already spent one day not leaving their room and Steve had made it clear that it was quite inappropriate, meaning she wasn't allowed her second day of alone time.

"Should I be worried?" Steve asked, suddenly bashful as he thought that perhaps she was having second thoughts about them after everything that had happened during their first day as being something more than just friends.

"Ha, no, not you," Amelia chimed, beginning to glow as she was reminded about what step they'd taken between them. Really, things weren't actually that different, they'd always been close and always slept in the same bed, really the only difference was that she could kiss him. And, eventually, she'd be able to pronounce to the world that he was hers which was possibly the best part, knowing that he was all hers. "This is about everyone else," she explained with a sigh, smile dropping as she became lost in all her worries once more, "mostly Dani to be honest. Wanda at least talks to me and Nat, and she's started to come out of her room more to hang out with Vision. Jack is getting close to Tony. But Danielle doesn't seem to be making any progress at all."

"She has been through a lot," the soldier reminded her and Amelia gave a nod as she started to chew on her lips. She hadn't forgotten that fact, it was hard not to when their stories were so similar. Taken by Hydra at a young age, losing their parents, being given powers they could never fully understand. She couldn't forget her own past, so she certainly couldn't forget Danielle's.

"I know, I know that she probably just needs time and to know that we're all there for her, but I just can't stop thinking that if we continue leaving her alone to her thoughts, to all the untrue guilt, then she'll… well, I know this sounds mean but I'm scared she'll become another AS09," She hated admitting it, feeling like she sounded cruel to the young girl. It was an irrational fear that she couldn't seem to rid herself off.

"I don't think you need to worry about that at all," Steve attempted to comfort, bringing up the hand that was around her shoulder and dragging his fingers tenderly across her cheek, the brunette immediately leaned into the touch. "From what I can tell, Dani is strong with a good moral compass, you were just a baby when you were taken by Hydra."

"But she's still been in Hydra's grasp, and they did to her the exact same thing they did to me. They gave her powers she doesn't understand and left her in a world that doesn't make sense anymore." Again Amelia felt herself feeling grateful towards Steve because after she left Hydra he actually managed to build the world in a way that she could understand it, or at least not fear what was hiding behind every corner. "I had you to make sense of the world, but right now everyone's too busy fixing themselves to help her out."

Steve looked to his girl with an analytical gaze. Amelia really was concerned about Dani and for some reason, it was making him fall in love with her more, because it just showed how human she could be despite how many times she'd jump to label herself more like a monster. She wasn't a monster, and he believed that, because of all the concern she had, then she could also be a great help for Dan. "You should go talk to her then," he recommended, unable to find any reason as to why it might be a bad idea.

"I was going to ask you to do it, actually," she revealed, turning to look into his eyes with a desperation because she really didn't want to be the one to talk to Dani. Steve had been so helpful to her and he was the kindest man she knew, that sort of softness was required for people shattered to the point of delicacy like Danielle.

"No, it should definitely be you," the soldier persisted. Whilst he could be kind and gentle, he couldn't relate to Danielle's problems and perhaps an understanding was the real key to make Danielle unfold her petals.

Amelia snorted, "come on Steve, I'm the last person who should be talking to her, I'm not exactly a great example because of my past."

"It's because of your past that I think you're the best person to speak to her," he immediately argued, "I held your hand whilst you were AS09, but you were the one who made the decision to fight against Hydra, to join my side…" He reached down with his hand so that he could grab a hold of hers, his fingers entwining secretively, the intimate touch hidden behind a pillow, a show of just how grateful he was that she'd made such a decision. "You're the only one who's experienced that."

"But… she's a child, what if I accidentally damage her or something?" Amelia didn't know the first thing about children, all she knew was how to kill them and she hated how ingrained that knowledge was in her head. Plus, after her past, she didn't want to accidentally do something wrong that could damage Dani. A bit of her past treatment that would sneak into her own mindset and make her commit something atrocious.

"She's just like you, too much of an adult and not enough child, she wasn't allowed to be a child. In fact, there are a lot of similarities between you two from what I've seen so far," he continued to push, confident in what he'd suggested and not leaving Amelia much room to argue against him. It seemed he'd already decided that she was going to be the one to talk to Dani.

"You mean the fact that we could both have powers that shouldn't really exist in nature?" The brunette joked, using humour as a defence, trying to avoid whatever he was planning for a moment longer. The humour of the situation had avoided her, she really was terrified over talking to a child.

Steve rolled his eyes because that definitely wasn't what he meant. "No, I mean the whole Hydra background thing, and losing your parents, and I think Dani likes cooking too. She might be able to teach you a thing or two, like how to properly measure ingredients."

"Are you ever going to drop the pancake incident?" She huffed, doing her best to ignore the smile on his face that was filled with boyish charm, making the war veteran look ten years younger.

"Not a chance," he laughed, the sound close to a giggle that reverberated through her bones and caused a chuckle to vibrate out of her as well.

"Well, I don't want to just go to her room and talk to her," Amelia calmed down and spoke her concerns, knowing that Steve had definitely given more than enough points on why she should be able to help Dani. She just needed to get over her initial fears and with Steve at her side that would be a little easier. "We barely spoke when she left Ultron's side to join ours, I don't even think she knows my name."

"How about we do a dinner then, just us two and her," Steve suggested, knowing that she'd want him by her side without her even having to ask, "we could do the cooking together, I think it'd be a nice escape from everything that's been happening as well."

"Okay, sure," she agreed, very much liking the idea at first but then her voice became quieter as anxieties started to get to get the better of her again. She tried to cover them up, putting her best mask on and moving her mind to concentrate on something else. She held up her hand, as though she were trying to gain the attention of a teacher. "I've got dibs on making the dessert."

Suddenly, Steve began to look around suspiciously, leaning forward so he could see into the door, trying to see if anyone was about to wander into the room and see them together. When he knew for sure that they had the room to themselves, he turned back to Amelia, leant forward, and pressed a kiss to her lips which she happily accepted. It was proving difficult for the two of them to keep their hands off of each other since becoming more than friends, and perhaps it was the fact that they couldn't constantly be holding hands and doing other couple-y stuff which made them want to do it even more.

Meanwhile, inside of her own bedroom, Danielle was sat at the edge of her bed scrolling through a little iPod that she'd been using to occupy herself whilst her brother busied himself trying to comfort Wanda after Pietro's death. She'd also gone to help Wanda, but sometimes, a lot of the time, she just wanted to be on her own.

Pietro's death had taken a toll on all of the enhanced siblings, Wanda the most, but Danielle figured she'd only be adding onto more problems if she acted on the sadness that built up in her chest after the speedster's death. Jack already had to play big brother to one sister so she didn't want to add her own grief onto his list of problems, she'd only stress him out and she wanted him to take care of himself too.

But because of her decision to keep all of her emotions internal for the welfare of everyone else, that meant she pretty much had no one to talk to. She couldn't really talk to anyone anyway. Ever since Ultron, she'd been going through an awkward mute-phase, it was in it's prime, and she didn't really feel comfortable around the Avenger's team. She wasn't sure how she actually felt around them, whether they were good guys or not.

Over the past few days she'd learnt that they were all just too busy. The Black Widow had locked herself away inside the gym and, in Dani's opinion, was far too intimidating to approach anyway. The teenage girl wasn't even going to try to speak to Thor or the 'Vision'. Tony had spared her a small 'thank you' after she'd aided in helping destroy the flying city of Sokovia, and then she wasn't really sure who War Machine was. That left Danielle with the option of trying to talk to the only person she felt comfortable speaking to other than her brother and Wanda: Steve.

She'd actually attempted to talk to him, searching for Steve in the new Avengers facility and finding him inside the kitchen with a woman. Amelia. From what Dani knew, she'd assumed that the soldier and the older enhanced woman were actually a couple. They always seemed to be together and she'd learnt that they slept in the same room together, so it only made sense that they'd be in a relationship.

Danielle had actually first met Amelia when they were in Seoul stopping a train, she had fainted after over exerting herself with her own powers to stop the train from crashing into civilians. From that moment on, Danielle had sort of seen the older woman as a role model, a role model that was both impressive and intimidating.

Because Steve was busy with Amelia, a woman Dani hadn't really spoken to all that much, she decided to trudge back to her room which was near-empty, the walls plain and the furniture minimal. She had stayed there the rest of the night and that was when her brother had visited to give her the iPod. She supposed it was his way of trying to make sure that she was okay whilst also managing himself and Wanda, she'd pretended that she was and accepted the iPod gratefully.

Dani wasn't sure if she'd actually been convincing but it didn't matter as she planned to stay inside of her room for as long as she possibly could. That was until someone knocked on her door. Her head snapped up from what she was doing on the iPod to see Steve poking his head through the barely open door.

Caught off guard, Danielle sat up slightly and gave him a little wave. "Hi," she greeted, her voice barely above a whisper.

If it hadn't been for his super-soldier hearing then Steve probably wouldn't have heard the girl speak. "Hey," he replied, his voice gentle and kept low as though if he spoke in anything above a whisper then he'd scare her. "We're going to have a small dinner and I though it would be a good idea if you joined us."

"Us?" Danielle questioned, looking back down at her ipod shyly. It was comforting having the device in her hands, it gave her something to look at and something for her hands to press on.

"Just you, Amelia, and me," the soldier explained, "Jack and Wanda already declined the offer and everyone else is busy with different things."

The very idea was filling her with anxiety, scared of what exactly the couple would expect from her and scared that she wouldn't be able to pretend that she was okay enough to get through the meal. But Steve looked so hopeful that she didn't want to turn him down. "Okay," she agreed, feeling unsure of the decision even as she agreed to it.

He explained what time the meal was going to be and then he gave her an earnest thank you and left her once more with her thoughts.

That time was filled with her overthinking the scenario. A meal with Amelia and Steve, they'd been nothing but kind to her yet she was absolutely terrified at the prospect. Especially because it meant meeting Amelia officially and she was scared of what the enhanced woman would think of her, and how she'd react. Amelia came off so strong-willed, and for the past few days, Dani had felt anything but that.

"Okay, we're done," Amelia announced, looking down at the table which she'd decorated with Steve. They'd moved a small round table into the private kitchen so they wouldn't be interrupted by any Compound workers as they would have been if they'd eaten in the public dining hall. They'd set up three places at the table and in the middle was a much larger plate with a mountain of nachos towering on it.

Behind them was the spaghetti and meatballs Steve had made which simply needed to be warmed up before they served it, and then the dessert Amelia made was hidden away in the freezer, even Steve had no idea what it was as she'd made it whilst he was shopping for what they'd need for the starter and main meal.

"This looks delicious, Freckles," he enthused, having to maintain a positive outlook because for the past few hours Amelia had been nothing but nervous. Even then her body was strict and her expression hard as she stared down at the table looking for a flaw she seemed to _know_ would be there.

"Are you sure?" Amelia asked, panicked. "Maybe we made too much food, I don't want her to think that she has to eat all of it and then be too shy to say that she's full a quarter the way through the meal so she forces herself to eat the rest only to return to her room and throw up."

"Freckles, you really need to calm down," Steve replied as he reached out to take her hand into his, hoping the embrace would be enough to stop her at least shaking. He pulled her even closer so that they could embrace, him wrapping his arms around her shoulders, and Mia resting her head on his chest. "We'll let her know she doesn't have to eat it all, okay?"

She nodded her head as she pressed herself even closer to him, feeling his warmth spread through her like a sun rise that calmed the torrential storm of anxiety that had overtaken all of her senses. "Alright," she relented, "but we also need to tell her to save room for dessert, that's going to be the best part."

Though his lips were hidden away in her hair, the soldier still smiled to himself because of course she wasn't worried about the dessert. The first few months where Amelia started experimenting with food, all she'd made was desserts. "Okay, but you have to calm down first," he reminded her.

"Deal," Amelia pulled away slightly so she could easily wrap her hands around his neck. The brunette did reach up to give him a kiss on the cheek but she was interrupted by the appearance of a small enhanced girl stood in the doorway. "Danielle!" Immediately she pulled away from Steve and the soldier stepped away from her as well, turning to face Danielle.

"Hi," she whispered, giving the pair a small wave which made it seem to the couple like she hadn't noticed what they were about to do. Danielle had, she just didn't know that their relationship was a big secret or something out of the ordinary.

"Hello, Dani," Steve greeted, voice rumbling as he tried to switch to casual from the mood Amelia had set. He gestured towards her, in particular, her outfit as she'd seemingly dressed up for the occasion with a nice blouse and jeans, her hair falling in natural, lazy, waves. It was a lot longer than Amelia's and it was something the psychic would always envy her for. "You look lovely."

"You're making me feel underdressed," Amelia joked as she looked down at her own outfit which consisted of a long black-sleeved shirt, black skinny jeans and black combat boots, her shoulder length hair pulled up into a small ponytail.

"Oh, sorry." She murmured, looking down to the floor and crossing her hands in front of her body, as though she was trying to hide it from them.

Amelia immediately looked over to Steve with panic etched on her expression, imploring the soldier to do something. "Let's sit down and eat, shall we?" Steve improvised, stepping over to the table and pulling out Dani's cair, then Amelia's. "Me and Freck- uh, Amelia, made nachos for starters, because we're not really good cooks," he continued, as though Danielle wouldn't be able to see that they were eating Nachos when in the middle of the table there was a mountain of the food.

"Speak for yourself, Rogers," Amelia sassed as she sat down at the table, Danielle doing the same. The brunette smiled over to her, feeling her skin being pulled tight by the movement. "You don't have to eat everything, I know we've made a lot. Just make sure you have enough room left for dessert because it's going to be the best part," Amelia explained with a wink.

"Okay."

"Great, bon appetite, then." Amelia was doing her best to try and not let Dani's one words answers affect her, she understood that the girl was going through some sort of mute phase and though she'd never experienced it before Steve had taught her the basics. The small girl literally couldn't help it, her mind forcing her into that state the same way Amelia's mind had forced her to see Pierce's ghost for well over a year. The best thing she could think to do was let Dani go through the phase, as long as the enhanced knew that she did really have people she could talk to, then Amelia was going to do her best to not get too concerned about it.

Instead of getting unnerved by the one-word answers Dani was giving, she concentrated on her food which was the easiest thing she had to do that day. Immediately she took from the giant plate in the middle a mountain of nachos, dumping the load onto her own plate and starting to scoff them down, enjoying the mix of flavours bursting in her mouth the same way she did every meal because it had yet to grow stale the wonderful new tastes she was discovering since leaving Hydra. The food had definitely been better tasting in Europe but America was the place to go for inventive new junk foods.

Steve immediately rolled his eyes at Mia's behaviour, watching her continue to throw a handful of nachos into her mouth and throw crumbs all over her plate. She was the messiest eater he'd ever met and it was disgusting to watch, yet she'd somehow made it a part of her charms so it never made Steve regret choosing her to be his… whatever they were.

He liked to think of her as his partner, but until he could actually ask her to be his girlfriend, the two of them were just floating around in the space between best friends and lovers.

The soldier then looked towards Danielle. The small enhanced girl wasn't being as enthusiastic as Amelia was, instead of scarfing down as much food as she could, she had one nacho in her hand and was dragging it through the sauces on top of her food. Taking a nibble from the chip only once before going back to playing with her food.

Underneath the table, Steve used his foot to gently kick against Amelia's leg, making the brunette look up from her food with a mouthful and white sauce dripping down the corner of her mouth to the bottom of her chin. Steve would have chuckled very loudly if he didn't have something else playing on his mind. Trying to keep his movements little and undetected, he slightly nodded over towards Dani who was still staring down at her plate quietly. Amelia raises her eyebrows, as though she was asking him 'what do you want me to do about it?' He creased his own eyebrows as he nodded back over to her, signalling that he wanted Amelia to say something to Dani. The brunette nodded her head over to him, pointedly signalling that he should be the one to talk to her. He hardened his gaze to a glare, a punishing look that promised she would be in trouble later if she didn't take up the opportunity he was giving to her to make some progress with Dani.

Amelia looked down at her plate nervously, seeming to relent her own fight in the battle. She finished swallowing the mouthful that had puffed out her cheeks, wiping away the sauce she felt on her cheek with just the sleeve of her black long-sleeved shirt. "So… how've you been?" The psychic used the first question that came to her head, one that wouldn't be too domineering and was more casual.

Danielle looked up with widened eyes, her eyes switching between Steve and Mia who were both staring at her with kind, curious expressions, awaiting her answer. Nerves dotted her body like pin pricks, up her spine, on her hands, down her neck. "Um… tired," she replied back, once again only giving a one-word answer as her eyes anxiously fell back down to the food in front of her. She nibbled on her nacho chip once more.

Meanwhile, Amelia's eyes instantly ran over to Steve and she gave him another look full of words. Only it was just one that time: help. Reluctantly he decided to take over, still sending his girl a supportive smile and even patting her hand that he was holding beneath the table as a sign that she'd done well. "How have you been adjusting to life at the Compound?" He asked.

"Good," Danielle shrugged. It was a lie of course, she'd been doing everything but being 'good'. She'd been struggling, but she didn't know if she could tell the people in front of her that, she didn't want to become just another problem.

A long, pregnant, silence set in. Amelia and Steve allowing more space to see if Danielle was planning on elaborating any further. She didn't. Beneath the table, Mia squeezed the soldier's hand. "Yeah, it's kind of big here," Steve supplied, motivated to continue speaking by Amelia, "but don't let it intimidate you. It'll feel like a home in no time."

Danielle's only response was a very small nod of her head, the kind of movement that was barely a movement at all as she finished her first nacho (meanwhile Amelia was on her hundredth one).

"You know what we need here"? Amelia visibly perked up as a lightbulb went off in her head. The idea in her head had appeared many times before but she'd never been able to find the right moment. Until then. Both Steve and Dani looked over to the girl, made even more curious by the mischievous smile which reflected in the glint in her eye. "A dog," she finally revealed.

"A dog?" Steve echoed, leaving out the pure excitement that Amelia had possessed.

"Yeah, a dog. Something that will make this place feel more home-y, you know?" She continued to explain, misunderstanding Steve's tone as confusion when it was actually distaste.

He made that difference clear with his next words though, "and you think a dog running around her, barking, and making a mess, will make it feel like a home?"

The brunette shrugged her shoulders, feeling crestfallen by his rejection but it wasn't enough to stop her attempts. "Well, I'd personally prefer a dog. But we could get a cat, they're quieter, right?"

Steve shook his head, and he knew immediately that he'd be doing that a lot during their conversation. "We're not going to get a dog or a cat, Freckles." He was trying his best to be gentle with his refusal, but even Steve knew that was only going to get him so far.

"How about a parrot?"

"They're way too loud and require a lot of care," he protested more firmly. Meanwhile, Dani was watching the two with a small smile curving her lips that was kept hidden by the way she had lowered her head.

"Hamster?"

"Who do you think is going to watch it when we're all on missions?" He had a valid point, and it was the biggest reason why they couldn't really have any pets at all. They'd either be too busy with training or being on missions and, selfishly, he didn't want any free time that the couple did have with each other being spent taking care of a pet. And they couldn't exactly ask one of the Compound employees to take care of the pet; they were there to help protect the world, not look after some animal.

"Oh! I know!" Amelia threw up her hand, finger pointed to the sky, "a panda!"

Dani broke into a fit of quiet giggles then, unable to stop the humour of their conversation from getting to her any longer. Even Steve laughed but he seemed to be trying to force the chuckle down, attempting to look at Amelia in a reprimanding way. "Amelia-"

"Steven," she cheekily interrupted, and Danielle found that 'cheeky' was the most appropriate way to describe the way Amelia looked in that moment.

It was nice. For the first time since everything that had happened with Ultron, Dani could wear a real smile and not feel like termites were digging through her solid wood insides, filling her heart with sawdust. She felt human again. Warm and alive. And it was _nice_.

"How about a goldfish?" Danielle offered as a suggestion.

The arguing couple both turned to look at Danielle completely caught off guard by the words that had actually come out of her mouth. Four words in total. That was more than what Amelia had been afforded ever since they finished their mission in Sokovia. Amelia almost felt like she was witnessing a miracle. So did Steve, and for the first few seconds after Dani had spoken both of them weren't sure if they actually had heard her speak or if they'd imagined the whole thing.

"A goldfish?" Steve questioned, repeating what he thought she'd said so he could make sure that the small enhanced girl _had_ actually recommended the pet.

She nodded, conforming to the both of them that she'd indeed spoken and almost immediately the both tightened their hold on each other's hand beneath the table, their hearts soaring. And if they'd believed that their heart wouldn't be able to rise any higher, they were thrown once more as Dani spoke again. "They don't make noise, they don't require attention, they're easy to feed, and they're really cheap," she listed.

Amelia's jaw had practically dropped to the floor. Dani had said more words, and Mia had been able to hear exactly what she was saying without any mumbling or stuttering! Dani was actually getting more comfortable around her, actually seeing Amelia as someone that she could talk to.

If getting a fish would mean that Danielle would talk more and open up more, then Amelia would not give Tony and Steve a choice and force them to buy Dani her dozens of fish. A huge fish tank full of them. Even an entire aquarium if she had to. Amelia just really didn't want another poor child to turn into a lost experiment because of Hydra. Not again. Not ever.

"Well, we'll see," Steve said. They'd have to figure out a lot of things, like where they'd put the fish and who would be its primary main caretaker. And before they planned any of that Steve wanted to get the okay from everyone on the team. It should have been okay anyway, it was just a fish, but he wanted to be sure before making any decisions.

"Sure, how many do you want?" Amelia asked, completely ignoring what Steve had said. It surprised both the enhanced girl and the soldier, but mostly Dani who had thought that Steve was the leader so therefore in charge of all the decisions with regards to the team and their home. She supposed, though, because Amelia was Captain America's girlfriend, that meant she got special privileges. Or maybe, for the benefit of their relationship, Steve wasn't really allowed to throw orders at her.

"W-What?" Steve didn't enjoy the way he stuttered, especially because he thought he'd gotten quite used to the way Amelia always chose to do things her own way, but it seemed she'd always manage to surprise him. In some ways it was a good thing, at least he'd never grow bored in their relationship. But in that moment he felt undermined, he'd just argued against having a pet and even though he'd relented she still chose to go over his head.

She turned to face Steve with a glare, still not realising that what she'd done had been rude (that happened a lot) and instead all she was thinking about was how great of an opportunity simply getting a fish would give them. "If it makes her feel more at home, we should get it. It's not like a fish will bark and make a mess. A fish is perfect!" Amelia argued her point, using what Danielle had given her.

"Amelia-"

"Steven." Somehow, they both knew in that moment that they'd be repeating that moment a lot in their relationship, neither of them looked forward to those moments.

"He's right," Danielle interrupted, noticing the way they'd started to argue and not liking it at all, feeling like she was to blame. "We can't just buy a fish and stuff… nevermind."

As Dani's voice lowered once more below a whisper Steve finally realised the huge mistake he'd made. Amelia was the one in the right, thinking about what would be best for Dani and what would bring her out of her shell whilst Steve had still been concentrating on the logistics of getting a pet and whether it would fit in such a large home filled with loads of people. He'd been an idiot. Who was he to stop the poor girl from getting a fish? It wasn't even about the fish anymore, it was about Danielle fitting in, becoming a part of the team - the family.

"No," he responded, shaking his head and going back on what he'd said earlier as he finally understood Amelia's reasoning, "we can get a fish if that's what you two really want." Beneath the table, he felt a grateful squeeze from Amelia on his hand.

"Really?" Dani asked, voice still quiet but she'd looked back up at them with hopeful eyes and neither of them were evil enough to deny the child's desired wish then.

"I'll talk to Tony about it in the morning, but you guys have to promise that you'll look after it properly," he pointed a half-eaten nacho chip at both of them, suddenly feeling a lot like his father and he wasn't sure if he liked it. But he didn't mind if he had to be a father figure for Danielle, she'd lost her parents and she was very young, she'd need someone to take care of her and that wasn't such a scary responsibility because he knew that he'd have Amelia at his side. She'd already made it quite clear how much she wanted to help the enhanced girl.

"Of course we will," Amelia confirmed as she looked at Danielle with a large, excited, grin and though Dani couldn't mimic it she did smile back and that was more than enough for the psychic. She grabbed another chip from the plate that was covered in guacamole (store bought, she'd tried making her own and failed but thankfully Steve had predicted such a thing happening and bought some secretly) and easily slipped the entire thing into her mouth, once again getting sauce all around her mouth. She munched on it for a few seconds before speaking to Steve, "but let me talk to Tony, I'm his long lost sister, he can't say no to me."

"You're evil," he mused, mostly joking.

"Love you too." Knowing exactly what she was doing, she leaned over and pressed a wet kiss to his cheek, covering him in guacamole as well, once again earning a joyous laugh from Dani that lifted Amelia's spirits so high she wasn't even scared of crash landing.

They moved on with their meal, having the spaghetti and meatballs which Amelia rated a five out of ten. Despite the earlier hiccup, the conversation became much easier, Danielle giving her input where she felt she could. Even starting one or two conversation topics of her own. It was hard to tell who the adult and the child were at the table when it came time for dessert and Amelia finally got it from the freezer, revealing a giant ice-cream sundae that had in it everything that was chocolate. Both Steve and Danielle looked at it frightened, but Amelia stared at it like it would be her greatest prey.

Steve and Dani didn't manage to eat that much of it, whereas Amelia, of course, tackled the ice cream like a champion. Dani didn't know what was scarier, the way Amelia had been on the battlefield, how deadly she was, or how much food Amelia was able to consume without ever getting sick.

"Oh wow," Steve sighed, falling back limply in his seat and patting down on his stomach, "you made that dessert way too big."

"I told you to leave room for it," Amelia shrugged, licking the last of the chocolate ice-cream off of her spoon.

"Well, I suppose we better clean up now," Steve sat forward, his movements slow as he felt the weight of all the food he'd eaten pulling him down to the floor. The soldier knew though, that if they didn't clean it up then, then it would never get done and he'd feel bad if he left the mess to the cleaners.

"Oh, what's that Danielle?" Amelia suddenly asked, looking to the enhanced girl with drawn together eyebrows, Dani's own eyebrows shooting to the top of her head as confusion hit her hazy mind, she was sure she hadn't said anything. "You want to go back to your room? Oh, sure, I'll walk you back to your room," Amelia continued, standing up and seemingly being the only one who didn't struggle with doing so.

"I didn't hear her say anything," Steve revealed, an unimpressed expression on his face as he knew immediately that his girl was just trying to get out of doing the dishes.

Danielle looked between the couple once again, coming to the realisation herself of what Amelia's intentions had been and she had to admit, she didn't really want to do the dishes either. "Are you sure it wouldn't be a problem?" The small girl asked quietly, feeling bad for lying but also like she had no choice as Amelia was giving her quite a few side glances, waiting for her to speak up and help her out.

"Of course not, Steve will do the dishes, right honey?" Amelia's voice was as sweet as the ice-cream they'd all just eaten.

He wanted to argue against her. The soldier even opened his mouth, ready to make a point that they couldn't just make a mess and leave it to the cleaners, their job was to keep the establishment looking professional and that wasn't an excuse to do whatever they wanted. But then he realised that if Amelia did walk Dani to her room then they'd get actual alone time together, time to talk. His body deflated back in his seat as he knew he didn't really have an option. "...Right."

"Thank you," Amelia remarked, leaning over to him and kissing his cheek, that time managing to not transfer any food onto him. Then she stepped closer to Danielle, signalling to the doorway with her hand, "let's go."

Danielle did stand up and begin to follow the dark-haired brunette, exiting the kitchen and hearing one more sigh coming from the soldier before they were out of earshot. Once they'd reached the elevator which would take them to the floor with the younger team members rooms on, the small enhanced girl asked a question that weighed on her shoulders. "Do you think he'll be mad?"

"Only at me, and I have plenty of tricks to make him forgive me," Amelia immediately comforted, not wanting her to think that she was in trouble. She went to rest her hand on Dani's shoulder, but decided against it. Though she'd learnt from Steve that physical touch was a great way to comfort someone, she still sometimes felt uncomfortable doing it, especially to Dani, a girl she really didn't want to hurt in any way. She wasn't sure why she thought touching the small enhanced girl would hurt her, but in the end, she was just too scared and placed her hand back down by her side.

"Thank you for the meal," Danielle politely murmured, bowing her head slightly, "I actually had a fun time."

"You're very very welcome Dani, thank you for coming," Amelia tried to hide the way her heart skipped a beat at the knowledge that she'd managed to give Danielle a happy memory. Such things were never a possibility for her at Dani's age, so that was a pretty good start, she felt, for ensuring that Dani would grow up to be somewhat normal (as normal as Amelia was). That thought reminded Mia of what her main concerns were, and though the meal had been nice, those concerns hadn't disappeared. She doubted they would until she spoke to Dani about them. So that was what she did. "I, uh, actually have a question for you. Which you don't need to answer at all, I'm just worried about something dumb."

Danielle didn't say anything in response but she was looking at Amelia and so the brunette took that as a sign to continue, and as she did, Mia released her fumbling words carelessly, wishing that she'd prepared them beforehand. "I… I know you're not okay Dani. I can tell, because you're doing the exact same thing I would do before I had Steve, you're hiding away, being quiet, scared if you say something you'll reveal to everyone what's really going on in your head. But you know you can talk to me and Steve, right? I would have come and talked to you earlier but I was nervous about it." Despite not having any preparation, she settled with what she said feeling like they'd been acceptable. Or so she thought, until Danielle looked down at the grund and began to play with her fingers. That didn't look like a good sign. It looked like all Amelia had done was make her anxiety grow.

"I was nervous about talking to you too," Danielle admitted quietly, so quietly that Amelia almost didn't hear but she was glad she did.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Danielle confirmed, "I'm sorry about how awkward and quiet I've been, but, honestly, I was scared of what you two would think. You're both amazing heroes." _Heroes_. Dani had just called Amelia a hero, but that didn't make any sense, especially because of what she'd not managed to do during their fight. Amelia should have been able to do more for Charles, for Pietro. And she should have done something about that meteor instead of letting Dani, a small, innocent, child, destroy it using powers she couldn't even fully control. Not able to read Amelia's self-doubting thoughts, Dani continued with what she was saying. "And I'm still not sure what spectrum I'm on after Hydra and Ultron."

"You're not alone," Amelia said, voice as quiet as Dani's had been before. Because she really wasn't alone. Despite having Steve, Amelia still felt like she didn't belong any spectrum, like she was floating through some sort of limbo and perhaps being able to truly help someone like Danielle find their way into a home would help her find her footing too. "Look, how about this. We'll help out each other. Steve says we have a lot in common and I'm starting to agree with him. I can help you find your place, but you've got to work with me as well, which means not hiding away in your room all day."

"You did it too," Dani pointed out, not even really thinking about what she was saying and it didn't go amiss that she'd totally just managed to speak without panicking over her words. Hell, she'd made a joke. She couldn't remember the last time she'd bantered with someone.

"Yes, well, me and Steve, we were just taking a, um… break." Amelia cleared her throat, understanding that Dani had been referencing the day Steve and she had spent alone in their bedroom, watching movies and just generally making out and cuddling more than half of the time they'd been in there. The small enhanced girl didn't need to know that part though, so Amelia moved on as quickly as she could. "But I'm here for you now, officially. Whatever you need. And that can include, but is not exclusive to, a million fishes."

"Thank you." Dani didn't know what else to say, especially when thank you seemed to be the most appropriate words. She knew it would take herself a while before she fully trusted Amelia, but Danielle actually felt like she could talk to Amelia and that was a huge step from how she was feeling hours ago, like there was no one on the planet that would be able to listen to her thoughts.

"It's no problem at all," Amelia's teeth were revealed as she slipped on another perfect smile, "just don't let Hydra take you away from yourself, if that makes sense."

The advice was something easier said than done, but Danielle knew that Amelia was also aware of that fact so it gave the advice have some deeper meaning. Like, yes, it was going to be a battle, and there were some things that would feel infinite and impossible and heartbreaking. But Amelia had gone through it all and come out a certain way, so maybe she could too. Despite all the loss, maybe she could still move on with her life. _Her_ life.

They made it to Dani's room and as they stood outside of it the small enhanced girl felt as though she should hug Amelia for being so kind to her, for making her laugh, for giving her advice that managed to lift spirits that had been as flat as a rock for the past few days.

But she couldn't. Not yet. Danielle still felt unsure about everything but she wasn't being scrutinised by Amelia at all for not being okay. The brunette accepted the small wave Danielle gave her before entering her bedroom with a kind expression, one that promised they'd have more days together, happier days.

More adventures.

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 **A/N: Hello there, this is Rae speaking right now. This is the first instalment of mine and Assbitch67's collaborative project. It's just little moments featuring all the characters in the same world, and it's all sorts of moments, fluff, angst, mostly fluff and humour to be honest. If you guys have any requests feel free to give them! AND PLEASE LEAVE SOME REVIEWS TO LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!**

 **SONG FOR THIS CHAPTER: Home by Machine Gun Kelly ft X Ambassadors and Bebe Rexha**


	2. Chapter 2

**WITH GREAT RESPONSIBILITY… COMES TRICKS AND TREATS**

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" **My dearest friend, if you don't mind, I'd like to join you by your side where we can gaze into the stars and sit together, now and forever. For it is plain as anyone can see we're simply meant to be."**

― **The Nightmare Before Christmas**

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It was a dark and stormy night. Outside of the Avenger's compound, the wind howled boisterously, pulling autumn shaded leaves from trees and dancing with them in the nocturnal light. An orange glow lit up the outdoors, emanating from inside one of the Compound's rooms where a modern fireplace had been lit up.

Within that particular room of the compound, cuddled up inside the warm living space, was Tony, Steve, Thor, Amelia, Jack, Danielle, Wanda and Vision. They were all sat having a movie night, motivated to do so by Amelia who'd demanded that they have a family night. Some had been easier to convince than others. Thor had jumped at the opportunity once delicious popcorn was mentioned. Mia had to literally drag Tony away from his lab. Natasha had point-blank refused to join the night's festivities after learning the movie was going to be 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', the redhead stating that it was meant for kids. Instead of spending time with the family she was having some private time with Bruce who had been much more polite when rejecting Amelia's offer. And Sam had already made plans to have a night out with Rhodey, but he promised to join the next one as long as the movie choice was better.

"So, I'm confused," Amelia announced from her spot beside Steve. They were sat on a large couch, Amelia's legs laid on top of Steve's lap with a blanket on top that they shared between them. Jack, Dani, Wanda and Vision were all sat on the floor together on top of pillows, whilst the rest of the group had taken the privilege of the couch. They were halfway through the movie, Jack Skellington have just kidnapped Santa Claus. "If this is supposed to be a Christmas movie, why are there a bunch of monsters and stuff?" It wasn't like any of the Christmas movies she'd watched before.

"Because it's not just a Christmas movie, it's also a Halloween movie," Jack explained, not bothering to turn away from the film as he answered the brunette's question.

"Halloween?" Her tone of voice implied that she was asking another question. Amelia's query was somehow enough to gain everyone else's attention, all of them looking to her with the same curiousness Amelia felt towards the word Jack had used. It had been mentioned before in the movie but she'd assumed from that, that Halloween was the name of a place, yet Jack had used it in a different way.

"You don't know what Halloween is?" Steve asked as he looked down at her. He spoke casually, like it wasn't a big deal. He was more used to Amelia not knowing things that were normal everyday things to others. Plus, at one point in his life, he'd been exactly the same way when it came to him waking up in the 21st Century and having to learn all the new things that came with the different time. So different it was like he'd entered another world, not just the future. Of course, they weren't exactly the same, once upon a time Amelia hadn't even known what a kiss was, let alone was a 'holiday' was supposed to be, whereas all that Steve had been missing information on was a few historical events and pop culture references.

"How can you not know what Halloween is?" Tony scoffed from his perch on the end of the couch beside Thor, his tone not as gentle as Steve's had been. "You spent over a year with Steve exploring Europe, they have Halloween there too, how the hell did you manage to miss it?"

Amelia shrugged her shoulders, not actually have an answer so Steve tried to provide one instead. He looked up in thought as he tried to recall where the pair had been during October. They'd definitely been in Europe, most likely in Spain as that was where he remembered travelling to towards the end of September because they'd heard rumours of Bucky being sighted there. It finally dawned on him where they'd been during the last week of October. "We were camping in the middle of nowhere, in Spain." It was three-quarters of the truth. He couldn't really share with Tony about the search they'd done for Bucky and how they'd been exploring a forest looking for an old Hydra cabin they thought he might have been staying in, but he could at least tell the billionaire about how they'd spent the night in the forest.

The brunette's eyebrows furrowed as she looked back into her past to try and find the moment Steve was talking about. It wasn't difficult. That night in Spain was the first and last time they'd gone camping. "You mean that time me, you and Sam all tried to fit in a very small tent?"

"Yeah," Steve responded stiffly, he tried to sound casual but he'd visibly cringed at the memory, failing to hide his displeasure from the group.

"Do I want details or not? I can't decide," Tony mused, observing the way Steve's facial features bent downward.

Amelia looked to her brother but did not notice the cheeky expression that filled his features beneath the dusty orange glow of the fireplace. If she had then the brunette would have realised Tony wasn't asking why to figure out exactly what she'd been doing on Halloween, he just wanted to know what it was which made Steve shuffle so uncomfortably in his seat.

In an attempt to provide proof that she really had been in the middle of the woods during Halloween, she also accidentally gave Tony exactly what he'd wanted. "Steve took up all the space and when we woke up, Sam and I each had one of his arms in ours, cuddled up against him. It was pretty funny, though neither of the boys thought so. I still don't understand why Sam complained so much. He looked comfy and I definitely felt more comfortable too, you're like a giant pillow." Once she finished speaking, she looked to Steve for answers, but he didn't look ready to give him, his jaw tight and his skin redder than usual though Amelia naively blamed that on the fireplace.

From across the couch, Tony let out a guffaw, his white teeth put on a bright display as he grinned madly. "Okay, I've made up my mind," her brother announced as he leaned closer towards the couple, "I definitely want to know the details."

Amelia opened her mouth to tell him more on that night seen as he seemed so interested, but she was interrupted when Steve's hands dug into her thigh, not harsh enough to leave a mark, but the sudden pain did make her clamp her mouth shut.

"I'm not surprised that you all couldn't fit into one tent, Steve's massive," Jack muttered humorously from the floor. Most of the kids were looking amused by the conversation they were having. Danielle was smiling quietly though her eyes were cast downward to the floor rather than on the cuddled up couple. Jack was always much more extroverted than Dani but it didn't make either of them more or less included in the family.

"Eat all your greens and maybe one day you'll be big and strong like him too," Tony imparted another piece of wisdom to his protege.

Jack released a snort, "you're pretty small, I'm guessing that's because you had too much caviar as a child." There were very few people who would be able to get away with saying something like that to Tony Stark, luckily for the young enhanced boy he'd managed to become one of those people.

By that point, everyone had gotten used to the banter Tony and Jack shared, and for the most part it was a great source of laughter for the family. Even then the group were chuckling or rolling their eyes in amusement, one or two doing both (Danielle and Steve). "Ha ha," Tony responded numbly, filling up time as he tried to think of a much better quip so he could get payback.

Except Mia had her own thoughts that she wanted to vocalise, interrupting Tony before he even had the chance to speak. "That doesn't make sense," she said, her eyebrows furrowed, "Hydra barely gave me greens and I'm pretty strong."

"I believe that it is a saying with no actual scientific fact behind it," Vision explained.

"Oh," Amelia sounded as she mentally noted the new lesson down.

"I don't know what Halloween is either," Thor spoke up, directing the conversation back to the original subject as he'd been hoping to get an answer as well. "Is it like Christmas?" He'd definitely been a big fan of Christmas after what the Avengers family had all done together the year prior, and the role he'd gotten to play on that day was certainly the best part, at least in his eyes.

"Kind of," Danielle offered as an actual answer, the only one serious enough to give the God one. Her voice was still quieter than it would have been were she talking to Steve or Amelia who she was far more comfortable around as they weren't as intimidating as the Thunder God, who was very _very large_. Of course, physically, Steve and Thor were pretty similar but after spending so much time with the super soldier around his girlfriend she'd realised he was more soft and squishy than people would expect.

"I believe Halloween is a Celtic tradition meant for the dead," Vision answered, trying to include himself more in the conversation. It was a task he'd given himself in order to integrate better into the family, to give his information more in conversations rather than observing silently in the corner. He found that it was a lot easier with Wanda by his side.

Danielle's head became slanted slightly. Vision definitely wasn't wrong but it wasn't the reason they really celebrated the holiday during the modern age. "It's sort of like that, but it isn't celebrated the same," she expanded. Most of the things people did on Halloween was because it was tradition, not because they had a specific reason for it like they would have years ago. Danielle knew that once upon a time pumpkins were used to ward off evil, but in modern times the pumpkin was simply a decoration mixed among plastic skeletons.

"If it's a celebration, then does that mean there's going to be a party?" Amelia asked with interest. The last party she'd had was before Ultron arrived, and she was still waiting for the opportunity to have a drinking competition with Thor.

"Absolutely not, I promised Pepper that I wouldn't have any more 'needless parties'," Tony immediately denied, causing both of Thor's and Amelia's bodies to fall down due to disappointment.

"You don't need to have a party," Danielle quickly added after seeing the way Amelia and Thor became disheartened, "usually people just go out and trick or treat."

"Trick?" Thor repeated.

"Treat?" Amelia lifted herself higher up in her seat, displaying the same excitement that Thor had shown.

"Yeah," Dani confirmed, glad to see smiles back on their faces, "you dress up in a costume and then you go knock on people's doors and they give you candy."

" _Candy_ ," Amelia repeated once more, her body beginning to rise up and down as she bounced in her seat. Steve couldn't help but think that she was going through a sugar rush at the mere mention of sweets, and that notion was enough to fill him with a sense of dread as he dared to imagine what she'd be like once she had all of the candy in her grasp.

"And where does the tricking come in?" Thor questioned, having shuffled so far forward that he was on the edge of his seat.

"One of the most popular tricks is TP-ing someone's house," Jack explained, taking over for his sister as the 'trick' side of Halloween was definitely more his department. Thor looked back to the enhanced blankly, clearly not understanding what TP-ing was, yet his lips still curved upward into a polite smile. Jack saw the lack of understanding past the god's polite disposition and so he expanded his answer, "TP-ing is when you throw toilet paper over your friend's house."

"Ha!" Thor guffawed, "hilarious! Yes, I would very much like to partake in Halloween."

"Me too," Amelia agreed, mostly for the candy though."

From beside Amelia, Steve seemed to tense, not as exhilarated by the idea as everyone else seemed to be, and he had to mentally prepare himself for being a bad guy because that's what being the voice of reason did. "I don't know," the soldier intruded, "who'll watch over you all? I've got a mission tomorrow night." Of course, both Amelia and Thor were technically adults, but they were also children when it came to their understanding of the world. He didn't trust them to not somehow get lost in the middle of nowhere.

"Thor is a God and Amelia is a trained assassin, they can watch over themselves," Tony disagreed, seemingly unconcerned on the matter. Of course he was protective of his sister, protective enough to ensure that he'd be able to find her no matter where she went, so of course he wouldn't have an issue with her going out and having fun with the two new enhanced. All three of them needed to relax and be children for once, enjoy something they never could have had before because of Hydra.

"Really Tony?" Steve scoffed, his facial expression showing that he wasn't exactly surprised that it was Tony which had argued against him.

"What? It's good for Amelia to discover new things," the billionaire continued defensively, "come on Steve, you're her boyfriend not her dad."

"Would you guys come too?" Amelia asked the three enhanced that were sat on the floor, taking no notice of what Steve was saying because she didn't really feel like he could possibly stop her from getting the candy.

"Sure, we haven't celebrated Halloween in a while too," Jack answered, looking over to Danielle for confirmation that she'd be joining too. Mutely, she just nodded her head, but it was enough to get Amelia even more excited.

"I think I'm a bit too old so I'll leave you two to it," Wanda announced, nervously looking towards Vision from the side of her eye. She wanted to seem more mature to him, smarter, so she could be on the same level as him. She had yet to realise that she didn't need to do any of that.

"Okay, so what do we need to do this?" Amelia continued on.

"Just yourselves, a costume, and a lot of toilet paper." From the side Tony cleared his throat, gaining Jack's attention and then shaking his head so the enhanced would no he definitely wasn't allowed the toilet paper. There were a lot of questions about the Avenger's as it were, they didn't need to be found immaturely throwing toilet paper over innocent people's houses as well. "...Okay fine, no toilet paper."

"Yes, of course, no toilet paper," Thor said unconvincingly, not even hiding the way he winked mischievously over to Jack.

"What should I dress up as?" Amelia continued to muse, looking over to Steve for an answer but he shrugged. He hadn't taken part in Halloween for many, many, years, so he had no idea what was conventional anymore. He didn't want to recommend she dress up as a ghost only to then have her be penalised because it wasn't trendy.

"You could go as a monster, or someone from a movie, or a historical figure, those are what most people go as," Danielle listed as Amelia continued to stare at Steve.

Seconds later a crooked smile began to curve her lips, Steve could see that she was trying to keep it at bay, probably because if she allowed it to spread with the ease of a bird spreading its wings than he'd definitely have been able to read what she was thinking in her head. She never even gave him the time to realise there might have been more to that smile than simple happiness. Turning back to face Danielle, the brunette did a curt nod of her head to show that she'd had some sort of idea for a costume. "Right, and how far away is Halloween?"

"Two days," Danielle answered.

"Perfect, that's all the time I need."

"What are you plotting, Freckles?" Steve questioned, finally beginning to see the little devious light sparking in her pitch black eyes.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she replied, once again having to suppress a sneaky smile.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Amelia's eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were sharp as she stared at Jack, she'd been doing it for the past two minutes, trying to guess what character of what show was made out of red and gold cardboard boxes. Nothing had come to mind and even Jack had become frustrated with the way she'd been staring at him so intensely, unknowingly insulting him by not being able to tell who he was.

"Really? I'm your brother, Mia," he finally revealed, trying to salvage some dignity by putting on his best impression of Tony which he _thought_ he'd mastered after spending so much time with the billionaire, but from the blank look he was getting from Amelia he knew he'd also failed at that. He sighed, body deflating and cardboard boxes scuffling together as he draped his hands down, no longer trying to pose the way Tony would when in his own suit. He went back to being Jack. Jack in a box. "I tried to steal one of his suits but he caught me, so I've improvised with cardboard boxes, it's not that bad is it?"

"No, not at all," Amelia responded eventually, her voice wavering slightly to the point that it almost sounded unbelievable for Jack.

He looked back down at the cardboard boxes he'd painted, the top one was pretty good but he grew bored with the rest and he didn't have Danielle's help because she was busy making up her own costume. It would have been _so much better_ if he'd managed to nab one of Tony's suit but the bastard billionaire had walked in moments before he entered one and of course then the enhanced boy got an earful.

Thor entered the hallway which led to outside of the compound, eyes immediately falling on Jack who was painted a blood red and a gold that definitely had a large amount of glitter put into it. It took him a second too to make sense of the enhanced boy's costume, but at least it was just a second. Thor wagged a finger towards Jack and showed his teeth as he smiled, "ah, you're Tony right?"

Jack threw up his hands in a hoorah, looking to Amelia as if it to say 'at least someone gets it' and then he turned to face the Thunder God. " _Thank you_ , Thor, yes I am."

As they both looked to the God and paused for a moment as they took in the costume _he'd_ decided to wear. Dressed in red, white and blue, with a shield in his arms, the God looked like his body was being strangled by Captain America's mission suit.

"Did you… did you steal Steve's suit?" Amelia asked the question slowly, trying to avoid looking lower down.

He looked down to the suit himself but the God seemed to not see an issue with the way it hugged his body closely, almost intimately. "Yes, it is a bit small I must say, but look, I even got the shield," he held up the shield like it was Mjolnir, acting just as proud of the shield as he would his weapon.

"No you don't, you've got the fake shield," she argued, then holding up the shield she'd been holding onto that entire time. It was then Thor finally realised that she was also dressed as Captain America, her suit was a completely different fabric and merely had the well-known design printed on top of it; that was because Amelia had to buy her own, knowing full well she wouldn't have been able to fit in Steve's actual suit because it was fit to the soldier's measurements perfectly. She managed to get the shield though, switching it with the large plastic one that came with her suit and hoping it would distract people's suspicions until after she'd left the compound.

"Oh, I thought it was rather light but I just assumed that Steve was exaggerating the weight," he explained, beginning to swing the shield around in his arm.

"No, that's the one I put there so I could take the real shield," she picked up her own shield, unable to swing it around unless she flung her entire body around because the shield really actually was as heavy as Steve had said, possibly more for her as she didn't have super soldier muscles. Looking back up, her eyes caught Thor in a disapproving stare. "You should probably go change, Thor. The both of us can't be dressed up as Captain America."

Immediately Thor looked offended by her words, he'd gone to so much effort to steal the suit and it seemed unfair that _he'd_ have to change and not her. His was actually the real thing, surely that gave him more right to wear it!

"Neither of you can. Amelia, go put the shield back," Steve walked through the doorway Thor had, hands in his pockets and a disapproving stare of his own that matched the one Amelia had given the thunder God moments earlier.

"What, you don't like my costume?" She gasped, immediately becoming offended and Steve was immediately a victim to the wide black eyes she displayed to him, shining with either disappointment or tears, he couldn't really tell.

"N-no, it's not that," the soldier found that he actually quite enjoyed the image before him. His lover being hugged by the suit he dawned every mission. He couldn't help but think that she definitely looked better than he did in the red, white and blue, but that was beside the point. "You can't take the shield though, it's not just a costume prop Amelia, it's a serious weapon."

"I won't tell if you don't," she responded simply with a flirtatious wink.

"No, he's right Little Stark, you should go change immediately," Thor backed up Steve, his tone lowering so it was more reprimanding.

"You too, Thor," the soldier sighed, looking unhappily to the God who had actually stolen his suit and was no doubt stretching the fabric.

The reproachful expression he'd had for Amelia vanished as he looked at Steve the same way he'd probably look at someone who'd taken away his hammer and told him he was no longer allowed to be anywhere near it. "That's unfair," he stated.

"How about this, you can decide which one of us has to go change, that's a win-win for everyone," Amelia bargained, for once being the diplomatic voice of reason between her and the soldier. He knew it was only because she'd get something out of it.

"How is that a win for me?" He scoffed, reproachful. The brunette seemed to realise his displeased emotions so she moved to step closer, her hands going to his waist, and like a magnet, his hands moved on their own and rose to her own. She stepped even closer, the touch comfortable and simple to the both of them even when one of them was slightly more moody.

"Because you get some say." The fact that Amelia laughed revealed to Steve that she knew exactly what she was doing but she simply didn't care, she was becoming more and more cheeky every day and he believed it to be the kid's influence on her. Because Amelia could be quite immature sometimes, she'd found great friends with the enhanced kids, able to join in with their activities and have fun she couldn't have when she was their age because Hydra was too busy covering her hands in blood. She seemed happier though, more alive, more out of her shell, and so were the enhanced kids, so he couldn't exactly complain about that side of her shining so brightly, especially when none of them was posing a danger.

He didn't really need either of his suit or the shield. Steve was going on a mission later on in the night but it wasn't anything that would require him fighting and he couldn't even wear his suit anyway as he needed to meld with a crowd of people.

With those things taken into consideration, he reluctantly made a decision.

"Fine," the soldier sighed, "Thor, go change."

Thor's eyes sharpened considerably. "You're just saying that because I can't kiss you," he accused.

Both Amelia and Steve laughed at Thor's words, the soldier shrugging his shoulders because he didn't really know how else to respond, he certainly didn't feel like he should apologise for that. "You could try, but that doesn't change that she looks a lot better in the suit," he joked, making Amelia laugh even more and as she did she pressed her head into his shoulder.

"Fine then," the God sniffed, his expression making it clear to the both of them that he was still quite insulted by how they'd conspired against him, "I'll be back."

They all watched as Thor stormed from the hallway, Steve and Amelia continuing to laugh and continuing to intimately touch without a second thought, their fingers mindlessly playing together. Once the laughter melted away and settled into a warm feeling in their chests, the brunette turned back to face the cardboard boy, a question springing to mind. "Jack, where's Dani? She's still coming right?"

Jack began to answer her when the door opened again, instead of Thor walking back in it was the small enhanced girl they'd been waiting for. "I'm here; sorry, I was having trouble with the costume," Danielle continued to mess around with her costume that consisted of black skinny jeans, black combat boots and a black hoodie. At the end of the sleeves, she'd wrapped around silver duct tape, multiple times so it formed two bracelets that reflected light. She'd had to put the duct tape there anyway because the hoodie she wore was quite big on her, that was because it wasn't hers. She'd also pulled up her long hair and pinned the ends of it behind her head so it looked shorter than it was.

"Oh my god Dani, that's awesome," Jack praises with a laugh.

"You look just like her," Steve added as he laughed too, knowing full well that the black ensemble, short hair, and glowing bracelets were all traits of his lover. The siblings had clearly planned to be the Stark siblings and it was something that made him wish he'd brought a camera.

"I don't get it, who's she meant to be?" Amelia mumbled as she stared between Dani and Steve and Jack, waiting for one of them to answer her but for some reason the question only had them all laughing even more boisterously. It was all very confusing, especially when she realised that the baggy black hoodie looked very familiar. "Is that my hoodie?"

"...No." It was a very big possibility that it wasn't because it was plain with nothing on it that made it unique, but then again Amelia owned ten of them and that did make it more likely.

"Do you have a mobile phone to call us?" Steve questioned, much to Dani's relief.

"I've got mine," Dani announced, pulling from the pocket of her hoodie the phone which Tony had given all the Avengers.

"Same here," Jack mimicked his sister's movements by displaying his own mobile, having to reach into one of the lower cardboard boxes so he could get to the pockets of his pants.

Amelia began to pat around the suit she wore, making a big show even though she could have quite easily given him an answer beforehand. Still, she patted her legs one more time and shrugged her shoulders before speaking any words. "Uh, there are no pockets on this suit," she excused, looking guilty because she knew how worried Steve was, he'd already given her a long list of rules to follow and warned her of any dangers she could encounter. She'd always replied back with the response Tony had used, that she was an assassin and Thor was a God, though they both might be slightly immature sometimes, they _were_ adults and could quite easily look after themselves.

The soldier rolled his eyes. "Well just don't wander away from Dani and Jack then,"

"Okay," she vowed, leaning up to press a kiss at the corner of his mouth, not wanting to do any more because of the kids in front of them. "You sure you don't want to come? It could be fun?" Amelia would be lying if she said that she wasn't disappointed Steve couldn't come, she was quite happy to have him be with her during her first time as he had been for most of her firsts. She at least had Danny and Jack who had quickly become family to her.

"No, I'm definitely sure," he responded, "you go have fun. Safe fun." Steve just _had_ to add that last part.

"I have returned!" The thunder god announced boisterously as he arrived once more to the hallway, throwing up his arms as he entered it so that everyone could get a good view of his costume.

"Thor, you're dressed as… Thor?" Steve looked the God up and down, surprised by the costume he'd chose even though he knew that he shouldn't have been. It wasn't exactly what you were meant to do on Halloween, but then again, it was something Thor would do.

Thor looked proud of his costume choice, undeterred by the confused stares from the two kids and Steve. "It's the only other costume I had, plus the Midgardians seem to like it a lot, I get a lot of people asking for pictures. Hopefully they'll give me more candy." He hadn't actually put a lot of thought into it, his usual outfit had actually been his first choice but when he'd gone to retrieve it he'd noticed Captain America's suit and decided it would be funnier if he did that.

"What time should we go?" Amelia asked, not really confused by Thor's choice because if she'd had an actual super suit herself than she might have also worn her own. She was just as new to Halloween as the god.

"Pretty early, we don't want to miss getting all of the candy," Jack explained, providing Mia with a different answer as he knew what she really wanted to know.

"Well then what are we waiting for?!" The brunette hollered as she raised one fist in the air and charged out of the building as though she were running into battle. Steve watched her run outside, mumbling a 'bye' grumpily beneath his breath, moody that she hadn't given him a proper goodbye. If he wasn't a grown man confident enough in himself and his relationship than he'd think that she loved candy more than she did him.

The rest of the group followed after her, Thor patting Steve's shoulder as he bid adieu to the soldier. Then, once they were all outside catching up with Amelia, Thor prodded Jack's side until the enhanced boy looked over and then he lifted up his cape to reveal a toilet paper roll he'd stolen from the compound. The two began to snicker, neither wanting to laugh too loudly whilst they were so close to the compound.

They could only hold in the laughter for so long though, so once they reached the car Tony had organised for them, they finally both released their slightly evil chuckles, earning weird looks from both the girls, as well as the displeased driver who Tony had roped into work for the group that night. Both Thor and Amelia were able to recognise the driver as Happy, and though they both greeted him and thanked him for taking the time out of his night to drive them around, his frown remained and he continued to grumble under his breath, muttering something about Tony being a 'dastardly liar'.

The group were far too merry to be affected by his grumbles, concentrating instead on their plans for the evening. Amelia repeatedly bringing up how many sweets she planned on getting. Enough to build an entire candy kingdom, she'd stated.

They didn't have to wait long before they could go trick-or-treating, Happy driving them to the nearest suburb. Outside the streets were filled with many people dressed in costumes, some monsters Amelia was able to recognise, and then others she was very confused by. Then there were the ones dressed as the Avengers (not a single one was dressed as Amelia though) and the brunette was made to feel a lot more special whenever she remembered the fact that her shield was actually authentic and not just some plastic imitation. She did, however, wish that she'd brought a camera to take pictures so she could show Steve all the adorable children dressed up like him.

For some reason, it made her wish to have children of her own, just so that Steve could then see their own son dressed up as him. She didn't stress too long on that thought as she looked over to Amelia and Jack, following them over to the closest door.

The house's front garden was decorated with pumpkins and plastic spiders, a thick web thrown over a tree that loomed in the lawn, glowing orange because of the lights set up. Jack and Danielle walked up the drive first, knocking on the door as Thor and Amelia joined the two with humongous grins on their face, the excitement overwhelming them. The door swung open and without missing a beat, all three of them yelled out, "trick or treat!"

The old woman that had answered the door theatrically pressed a hand against her heart, pretending to be scared, though all four of them were old enough to know that was probably far from the truth. "Oh!" She yelled out, eyes scanning over all of them with kind eyes that also glowed with orange fire due to the light. Amelia thought it was strange that orange was such a popular colour for the holiday, she couldn't think of a less scary colour that could be used to represent the celebration. "Those costumes are amazing, well done!" She congratulated, putting her hand in a large bowl and pulling out candy. "Iron Man, right?" The elder woman guessed, throwing a handful of sweets into Jack's empty sack. The enhanced boy nodded eagerly. She grabbed another handful, turning to look at Dani and allowing her eyes to pass over the costume. She didn't speak until after handing her the candy, "I'm sorry dear, I'm not sure who you are?"

"I- I'm Mia- I mean, Amelia Stark," the small enhanced girl stuttered out, doing her best to get through her anxiety at speaking to a stranger. She'd gone out that night knowing she'd have to at some point.

It seemed to finally dawn on the old woman after hearing the name and she gave a long nod, "oh right, I've heard about her in the tabloids, Tony Stark's long-lost sister, right?" Dani gave a small nod of her head to confirm the woman's thoughts.

If Amelia had actually been paying any attention to what the old woman had been saying then she might have corrected her, stating that she wasn't just some woman that could be read about in a tabloid. But the brunette couldn't even speak. She was just staring down at Dani with astoundment and a lot of wonderment, because the small girl had chosen to dress up as _her_. She'd picked to dress up as Steve because she admired him and couldn't think of anyone better to portray, and so she couldn't help but think maybe Dani had chosen to dress as her for the same reason. Maybe that was just hopeful thinking though.

The costume started to make sense to Amelia then, all the black she'd chosen to wear and the way she'd done her hair, even the tape on the sleeves had a lot more meaning than just being put there to keep the sleeves from falling down and drowning her arms. Amelia's heart was swelling so much in her heart she became concerned that it would burst out.

"That's a wonderful costume as well then," the old woman settled on, smiling down as nicely as she could despite thinking to herself that it wasn't really that great considering no one would really be able to recognise it. "Have a nice night then, I hope you get a lot of candy," she sent the same forced, wrinkled, smile over to the two adults before stepping back into the doorway, taking away with her the bowl of candy.

"Thank you, ma'am," Jack responded, beginning to walk away, Thor and Amelia reluctantly following behind the enhanced boy. The two adults did look at each other, confused at the fact that their sacks had remained empty and candy-less.

Just as they were about to exit the front garden, Dani suddenly turned back to face the old woman right before she could fully close the door. Everyone stopped to look at the small enhanced girl that was staring at the floor, gnawing on her lip, words waiting to be spilt. At first, it seemed like she was going to give up on saying them and continue on the group's journey to the next house, but then she finally looked up and set her eyes on the questioning old lady. "She's a lot more than that," the enhanced girl said, voice wavering as she tried to keep her tone loud enough for everyone to hear, " she's also an Avenger… a hero."

The old lady blinked towards the child, surprised at the outburst - as was everyone else - but she didn't want to insult the child by disregarding what she said, so instead the lady awkwardly responded with: "Uh, okay. Whatever you say, honey. Happy Halloween."

Amelia wasn't bothered by the old lady's response and neither was Dani, that moment was far more important to the both of them and it didn't include what the candy giver's reaction had been. That moment, that perfect little moment, revolved around Dani saying words she knew Amelia needed to hear, and it revolved around the fact that Amelia had finally heard what Dani thought about her. She'd been so scared of the child seeing all the efforts she was making to spend time together as annoying, but it turned out to be the complete opposite. Dani liked Amelia, that was enough and more.

"Thank you, Danielle," she whispered, voice almost as quiet as Dani's had been because Amelia simply couldn't believe that someone other than Steve could ever see her in such a positive light.

"How come she never gave us any candy?" Thor questioned, not noticing the moment the two females were sharing as he stared down at his sack which had continued to remain empty, no batch of sweets magically appearing despite how long he stared at it.

"Uh…" Jack immediately looked over to his sister for help, a wordless conversation passing between the two siblings as he asked her to think up an excuse because even he'd feel cruel if he told them that Halloween was meant for children, not adults. He'd hoped that during the night the other adults would see that they'd brought a bag for candy and give them some, but that had immediately not worked out, leaving him with a question he felt was as heavy as 'is Santa real?'

Dani was quiet for a moment, her eyes wide as she tried to grab for any excuse she could find, most of them slipping through her fingers as they could have easily been argued against. Eventually she found one that would fit in her hands nicely, and she hoped it would be good enough for the assassin and God, just as long as they didn't ask any questions. "Because it's tradition," she threw the words out quickly, throwing them at the two like a ninja would use smoke as a disguise, "yeah, they give candy to the children so they can halve it with the adults at the end of the night."

Thor and Amelia looked from the two children to one another, and for a second Dani was _positive_ they'd know from her squeaky tone that she was lying. But in the end, Amelia's face melted into determination and she tightened her hand around the useless sack she'd brought with her. "Okay," she sounded, "so that means we need to get a lot of candy so we can share a decent amount between us all."

"Yes, we must plan our route carefully to ensure we get all of the candy," Thor concurred.

"Agreed, so if you see a child walking down the street with a full bag, then I propose we go down the route they're coming from," the brunette plotted, and Thor joined in, the both of them discussing the best plan. Thor disagreed with her and said that if they went down that route then all the candy would be gone, so it would better for them to hit the houses on the route that would be the last target for the children.

It continued the entire way around the suburb, the two of them trying to figure out strategically what the best house would be. It was a mission for the two of them, a mission to get as much candy as they possibly could.

Meanwhile, Jack and Dani followed behind, finding great amusement from the two Avengers' behaviour. They even followed through with their orders, Amelia telling them that they should look and act as sweet as possible in order to get more candy, Thor following a similar train of thought when he told them that if they got less than two pieces of candy each than they should demand more and threaten the might of Thor himself if the candy-givers refused. They never did the second one though.

After two hours of hitting every single house in the suburb, Thor and Amelia are walking back with the children's sacks in their hands, and the kids on their backs. Jack and Danielle were tired after all the walking, and too weak to carry the sacks which had literally started overflowing (Amelia hadn't minded that, it meant they could have early snacks for one another). Danielle was on Amelia's back, her arms around the brunette's neck and her head leaning tiredly against her shoulder. Jack was behind Thor, not as tired and pretending that he was riding a horse instead of a Thunder God. Thor didn't seem to mind, joining in with the pretend play.

They got back to the car and a still grumpy looking Happy immediately put the car to drive, forcing the squad to rush with getting their bags and the children into the car. Amelia busied herself with looking at all the treasure they'd collected that night whilst Thor suddenly slammed his hand on his leg, remembering something, "we never performed our trick!"

Jack shrugged his shoulder, not as affected by it as Thor, "we can do it now, but we need to pick the right house."

From beside Amelia, a tired Dani raised up her head that had been resting against the seat to look over at her smirking brother, "isn't it kind of mean to throw toilet paper on a strangers house?"

"I agree with Dani on this one," Amelia added despite the caramel chocolate she was chewing on, "I don't like the idea." She was trying to be a level-headed adult, like Steve.

Jack winked at both of the girls, "I figured you would say that, so I figured out the perfect spot for us to TP."

* * *

Steve and Tony stared unblinkingly for a moment, not sure what to focus on in the mixture of chaos that was the compound common room. It looked like a war zone; toilet paper was hanging from every available space, candy wrappers scattered across the floor, and there were also four oversized children laid on the ground in a jumble of candy, costumes, and pillows.

Jack was curled up inside of a large box that had the end of Thor's red cape draped over the edge of it. The young boy was using a pile of candy as a pillow and even had a piece of Jolly Rancher stuck inside his tousled hair. Beside him, Thor was curled into a little ball, a thumb and half a Tootsie roll hanging out of his open mouth as a strain of drool dripped down his face on the pile of candy he'd put under his own head in an attempt to copy Jack. He hadn't been so strategic about his pillow, picking anything to add to the pile whilst it seemed like Jack's pillow was mostly made up of marshmallows still in their wrappers.

Across from the boys were Amelia and Dani. While the men had curled themselves up, the women were all spread out. Amelia laid spread eagle with her arms outstretched and a small smile on her lips as she slept soundly. The rest of her was chaotic despite the peace covering her face, more candy wrappers tangled in her hair than anyone else's and she'd created some sort of blanket out of candy wrappers though most of it seemed to have fallen to one side of her. Sleeping on the brunette's abdomen was Danielle. Most of the tape from her Amelia Stark costume had fallen off, leaving her with just the baggy black hoodie that had ended up making a fantastic blanket as she stretched out across Mia's body, a lollipop was still clutched in her hand.

The image before them was made even stranger to the two men because they were dressed like them, though they weren't exactly replicas of themselves, it was still a creepy image to look at. Tony was the first to break the silence between the pair of men studying the scene before them. "What… is this?"

Steve frowned, kneeling down to pick up a small candy wrapper from off the floor. "I think they've gone into what Wanda described as a 'candy coma'."

Tony continued to stare at the setting around him with a blank expression before he pursed out his lips. "I can't deal with this, this early in the morning, especially without coffee," he remarked, stepping over the many pillows (which were mostly unused, he noticed) and the candy wrappers to walk to the nearby kitchen. But on the way there, he caught sight of something outside of the window, something which covered most of the field just outside of the Compound. "Uh… Cap?"

Steve - lost in thought as he admired the way Dani clutched onto Amelia's stomach like she was a pillow, and the way Mia hadn't moved or shifted in any way as to not disturb the little girl's slumber - looked up to see Tony's tearing out the window with a look of horror on his face at something unseen.

Worried, the soldier wandered forward and followed the billionaire's gaze, his jaw-dropping once he realised the reason for Tony's horrified expression.

Outside, lining all the trees surrounding the Compound like a sheet of white was nothing but toilet paper. It stretched for yards and yards, throughout the forests and fields. Both men were even more shocked at that sight than they had been at the four Avenger's that were suffering the effects of a sugar rush that had been way too powerful.

"How… What… I…" Steve stuttered out a few words, but he just couldn't seem to form the right phrase or comment to even describe how utterly confused, shocked, baffled and in _awe_ he was by the sight in front of him.

Tony could only sympathise with the Captain, questioning how much time the four enhanced individuals in the living room must have spent on covering the entirety of the Compound forest in toilet paper. Or where they'd even gotten that much toilet paper. Or how any of what they'd done was even possible.

Then the billionaire thought on it and realised that it was his sister and that _anything_ was possible when it came to her. Then when he added Jack and Danielle to the equation… well, Tony realised then that the moment there was definitely not going to be the last time he was in awe from something those three would do.

He had never been more right before in his entire life, and he was Tony Stark.

* * *

 **A/N: HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM RAE AND ALLY!**

 **Hope you enjoy the next one-shot and have had a great evening, hopefully, it wasn't too spooky!**

 **To Assbitch67, the Mexican autocorrect bandit was destined to appear in this story at some point, now he knows that we're both here it's like easy candy for him. Man, we should have just written a Halloween story about him.**

 **To CrumblingUniverses, thank you so much! I really like writing the two together, just cause it opens up so many doors for Amelia, like she finally gets her child to take care of and have an actual child to let her be childish all on her own. I can't speak for Assbitch67 but yeah, so far this experience has been awesome for both me and Amelia!**

 **SONG FOR THIS CHAPTER: ... We're Simply Meant To Be from The Nighrmare Before Christmas.**


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